1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mountings and, more particularly, to mountings for vertically and pivotally locating devices of assistance to handicapped persons.
2. Description of Related Art
Those persons who, due to illness of physical infirmities, are confined to a bed, wheelchair, geriatric chair or the like, must generally resort to a makeshift device to assist them in handling everyday needs. For persons who have lost some or all ability to move an arm in an effective manner, some type of support is necessary. When these persons use a wheelchair for ambulation, a particular problem arises as slings or more rigid supports suspended from or attached to the person's body may be difficult or cumbersome to use. To simply let the arm dangle or rest upon the user's lap are not always acceptable alternatives.
A person confined to a wheelchair must, from time to time, convey various articles. A compartment for such articles may be in the manner of a pouch suspended from the rear of the wheelchair. Such a pouch may be impossible to access. Alternatively, a similar pouch may be suspended from the sides of the wheelchair; such pouch may be of limited size or configuration due to potential interference with the wheels and manual rotation thereof. Some type of enclosure may be secured to the foot support mechanism but such enclosure must be relatively small sized to preclude interference with the user's legs and feet. Access to any side mounted or front mounted pouch may still be a problem for certain users.
A table top like surface is of great benefit to a wheelchair or geriatric chair user to assist and to render more easy daily functions of reading, writing and eating. The prior art devices for such purposes are awkward, cumbersome, difficult to manipulate and to store. Furthermore, certain wheelchair or geriatric chair users need assistance in communicating and readily available pictographs or the like to which the user can point would be of great benefit.